Porgy and Bess, Conducted by Nikolaus Harnoncourt, to Be Released on CD

Sony Masterworks will release a live recording of the Graz Festival’s production of Porgy and Bess to celebrate the opera’s 75th anniversary on September 21. Nikolaus Harnoncourt conducted the production, which was seen in 2009 in Austria.

The production, preserved on a three-disc set, uses the version of the score that was used for the show’s New York performances, one amended by George Gershwin himself.

The company features Isabelle Kabatu (Bess), Angela Renée Simpson (Serena), Bibiana Nwobilo (Clara), Roberta Alexander (Maria), Jonathan Lemalu (Porgy), Gregg Baker (Crown), Rodney Clarke (Jake), Michael Forest (Sportin’ Life), and Previn Moore (Mingo, Robbins, Peter, Honey-Man, Crab-Man), along with the Arnold Schoenberg Chor and the Chamber Orchestra of Europe under Harnoncourt’s direction.